Means for flexing shoe soles



'March 14, 1939. A. F. EwJucRox-"rV MEANS FOR FLEXING SHOE SOLES v `-Filed July 24, 1936 Patented Mar. 14, 1939 UNITED STATES MEANS FOR FLEXING SHOE SOLES Albert F. Bancroft, West Newton, Mass., assignor to Bancroft-Walker Company, Boston, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application July 24,

9 Claims.

This invention pertains to the manufacture of footwear and relates more particularly to a method of and means for imparting the desired degree of flexibility to a sole member, for example an outer sole, for use in a boot or shoe.

Longitudinal flexibility of the sole of a finished shoe is a highly important desideratum, particularly in shoes of the finer grades, but high eX- ibility is a characteristic which is not always compatible with durability since the finer and better grades of sole leather, unless unduly thin, are rm and close grained and not particularly supple or exible, especially after undergoing the various processes to which they are subjected in the course of shoe manufacture. This lack of exibility is. particularly noticeable when the shoes are made in accordance with a system in which the outer sole is formed with an integral thick area or filler member at the central portion of its forepart.

It has heretofore been proposed to make a shoe sole more flexible, as, for example, by bending it back and forth first in one direction and then in the other, but if this procedure be prolonged until the' desired flexibility has been attained, the wearing qualities of the sole are much reduced and the grain surfaceis so affected as to make it diflicult to impart a proper finish thereto. Furthermore, machines employed for flexing soles in this manner are not altogether satisfactory, for if set to bend the sole to a degree suflicient to impart any permanent flexibility, they tend to clog and jam and are thus quite unsatisfactory for the intended purpose.

Other modes of flexing the sole have involved scoring, grooving, or otherwise mutilating the flesh side of the sole, and while such methods may result in greater exibility, such exibility is obtained at the expense of strength and wear-- ing qualities.

Obviously true flexibility without recourse to mutilation or undue thinning of the leather, is to be obtained by loosening the constituent bers at thatportion of the sole where increased flexibility is desired, and it is the principal object of the present invention to provide af method of so loosening the internal texture of the leather as to impart permanent exibility but without substantial injury to the grain side either as respects strength or appearance.

Further objects are to provide an improved means useful in the practice of this method, and to provide an eiiicient and reliable machine which is capable of flexing any part of a shoe sole.

Other objects and advantages of the invention 1936, Serial No. 92,320

(Cl. 12-4L2) will be made manifest in the following description and by reference to the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a machine constructed in accordance with the present invention, the front support being yremoved toy show more clearly certain parts of the machine;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the machine shown in Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3--3 of Fig. 1.

The embodiment chosen for the purpose of illustration comprises a pair of spaced uprights I and 2 disposed on opposite sides of an opening 4 in the top of a bench, table or like support 5. Bolted to the top of the uprights I and 2 is a U- shaped casting having upstanding arms 6 and 'I and a base 8. The upper end of each arm is formed with a vertically extending slot I0 (Fig. 3.) having parallel faces, and the outer faces of the arms 6 and T are formed with vertically ex- H tending channels I I and I2, these channels be'- ing in alignment with the slots I0. The walls of the slots I0 and the channels II and I2 constitute slideways which receive slidebars I4 and l5 and plates I6 and I'I are secured to the outer faces ofthe arms 6 and I by machine screws I 8 to hold the slidebars within the channels II and I2. A depending guide post I9 is rigidly secured to the under side of the base 8 and its lower end is formed with a vertically extending slot 20 (Fig. 2) which receives a crossbeam 2l whose ends are rigidly secured to the lower ends of the slidebars I4 and I5. The upper ends of the slidebars are provided with horizontally aligned openings which constitute bearings adapted rotatably to support a. shaft 24. The shaft 24 carries a roll 25 which has a knurled or roughened periphery and one end of the shaft Z4 extends outwardly beyond the arm l and carries a hand crank 28 by means of which the roll 25 may be rotated. The slidebars It' and I5 and roll 25 are normally held in elevated position by a pair of springs 39 (Fig. 1) Whose lower ends are secured to the crossbeam ZI and whose upper ends are secured to eyes 3i fixed to the under side of the base 8. 45

The upper ends of the arms S and l are formed with recesses 34 and 35 (Fig. 2) disposed on oppbsite sides of the slots I0 and spaced equidistant from the center line of channels I I and I2. These recesses receive bearings 36 and 3l which rotatably-support shafts Il() and lil, respectively, the bearings being secured in place by machine screws t2 and 43. A pair of rolls 45 and 49 are keyed or otherwise secured to shafts D and 4I, respectively, the peripheries of the rolls prefer- 55 of the larger rolls being one to one and one-quar-Y ter inches.

Suitable means may be provided for effecting the downward movement or roll and to this end an actuating rod 5l) is secured at its upper end to the crossbeam 2l by hooks 5| or other coupling means, and its lower end is secured to a treadle 52 pivotally supported at 54. By depressing the treadle 52 the crossbeam 2l, roll 25 and associated parts are brought downwardly from elevated position, and when the pressure on the treadle is released, the crossbar and associated parts are returned to their normal elevated position by the spring 3B, the upward movement of the crossbeam and associated parts being limited by the engagement of the crossbeam with the upper end of the slot 26 in post i9. In order to provide a predetermined downward movement of the roll 25, the lower end of the post I9 is threaded to receive a pair of locking nuts 56 which constitute an adjustable stop, and by merely adjusting the position of these nuts relative to the base 8, the downward movement of the crossbeam may be limited so as to permit any desired downward movement of the roll 25.

In flexing a shoe sole or the like material in accordance with the present invention, the stop nuts 56 are first adjusted so as to permit the desired downward movement of the roll 25, and a sole S is then inserted between the upper roll 25 and the lower rolls and 46, with its grain surface resting on the lower rolls, as shown in Fig. 3. The treadle is then depressed sufficiently to bring the upper roll 25 intoI contact with the flesh side of the sole S and the crank 28 is then rotated back and forth, thus causing the sole to move back and forth longitudinally. During the continuation of the back and forth movement of the sole, the pressure on the treadle is gradually increased so as to bow or flex the sole toward its flesh side and gradually decrease the radius of the bowed sole, simultaneously causing the point of maximum flexure to travel back and forth and thus gradully loosening the flbers at and adjacent to the flesh side of the sole without noticeably affecting its grain surface. The operation is continued until the upper roll has reached its lowermost position, as indicated in the dot and dash lines of Fig, S, whereupon the pressure on` the treadle is released so as to permit the flexed sole to be removed.

The loosening of the fibers at and adjacent to the flesh surface is due to the fact that the sole is flexed or bowed so that the flesh side is subjected to compression, which results in buckling or the formation of a series of transversely extending wrinkles, whereas the grain surface is merely stretched and consequently maintains its smooth surface; and since the driving roll 25 engages the wrinkled surface of the flesh side and exerts thereon forces causing the sole to travel back and forth, the fibers constituting the individual wrinkles and the adjacent areas are teased outwardly and are thus loosened, whereas the flbers constituting the grain, being supported on;

Vthickness of the flesh side is subjected to the teasing action of the roll 25. Accordingly, by varying the degree of flexing of the sole under treatment, any desired amount of loosening of the fibers at and adjacent to the flesh surface may be obtained.

Where itis desired to flex a part or limited area of the shoe sole, for example, the shank portion of a womans sole, the sole is inserted between the rolls and flexed in the manner above described, exceptthat the back and forth movement of the crank is limited so as to conne the flexing movement of the roll 25 to the shank portion or other desired area of the sole, thus leaving the remainder entirely unaffected. Where different parts or areas of the sole are to be subjected to different degrees of flexing, one area is rst subjected to the desired flexing treatment and thereafter the crank is swung to a position to bring another area of the sole between the rolls and the pressure on the treadle is varied in accordance with the desired degree of flexing, the back and forth movement of the crank being such as to subject only the latter area of the sole to treatment.

It will be noted that in treating soles in accordance with the present invention, there is no mutilation or destruction of the material, and as the loosening of the bers of the sole is substantially confined to the flesh side, there is a minimum loss of strength and the grain surface of the sole is substantially unimpaired.

It will be further noted that any desired degree of flexibility may be imparted tothe sole under treatment, and that it is not only possible to treat any desired part or area of the sole, but that the sole may be divided into different areas and each subjected to a different degree of ilexing without removing the sole from the machine or otherwise interrupting the continuity of treatment.

While I have shown and described one desirable embodiment for carrying out the present invention, it is to be understood that this disclosure is for the purpose of illustration and that various changes in shape, proportion and arrangement of parts, as well as the substitution of equivalent elements for those herein shown and described, may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A machine for flexing shoe soles, comprising three spaced rolls each disposed in offset relation relative to the other two, two of said rolls being constructed and arranged to engage the grain surface of a sole and the other of said rolls being movable toward and away from a plane passing through the axes of the said two rolls, and means for rotating said other roll.

2. A machine for flexing shoe soles, comprising a pair of spaced parallel rolls, a flexing roll ro:- tatable about an axis substantially equidistant from the axes of said rolls, means for effecting a relative movement of. said flexing roll toward and away from the space between said rolls, and means for rotating said flexing roll.

3. A machine for flexing shoe soles, comprising a pair of stationary rolls rotatable about parallel axes and disposed in spaced relation to each other, a exing roll rotatable about an axis llo parallel to said axes and movable toward and away from the space between said pairs of rolls, and means for rotating said flexing roll.

4. A machine for flexing shoe soles, comprising a pair of spaced parallel rolls, a flexing roll rotatable about an axis substantially equidistant from the axes of said rolls, the diameter of said flexing roll not exceeding the distance between the peripheries of said pair of rolls, means for effecting a relative movement of said flexing roll toward and away from the space between said pair of rolls, and means for rotating said flexing roll.

5. A machine for flexing shoe soles, comprising a pair o-f spaced parallel rolls, the space between the peripheries of said rolls not exceeding their diameters, a flexing roll rotatable about an axis substantially equidistant from the axes of said pair of rolls, the diameter of said flexing roll not exceeding the distance between the peripheries of said pair of rolls, means fo-r effecting a reliative movement of said flexing roll toward and away from said space between said pair of rolls, and means for rotating said flexing roll.

6. A machine for exing shoe soles, comprising a pair of spaced parallel rolls, a iiexing roll rotatable about an axis substantially equidistant from the axes of said rolls, said flexing roll having a roughened periphery, means for eiecting a. relative movement of said exing roll toward and away from the space between said pair of rolls, and means for rotating said exing roll.

7. A machine for flexing shoe soles, comprising a pair of stationary rolls rotatable about parallel axes and disposed in spaced relation to each other, .a iiexing roll rotatable about an axis parallel to said axes and movable toward and away from the space between said pair of. rolls, the diameter of said flexing roll not exceeding the distance between the peripheries of said pair' of rolls, and means for rotating said flexing roll.

8. A machine for flexing shoe soles, comprising a pair of stationary rolls rotatable about parallel axes and disposed in spaced relation to each other, the; space between the peripheries of said rolls not exceeding their diameters, a flexing roll rotatable about an axis parallel to said axes and movable toward and away from said space be:- tween said pair of rolls, the diameter of said flexing roll not exceeding the distance between the peripheries'of said pair of rolls, and means for rotating said flexing roll.

9. A machine for exing shoe soles, comprising a pair of stationary rolls rotatable about parallel axes and disposed in spaced relation to each other, a flexing roll rotatable about an axis parallel to said axes and movable toward and away from the space between said pair of rolls, the diameter of said flexing roll not exceeding the distance between the peripheries of said pair of rolls, said flexing roll having a roughened periphery adapted to engage the flesh side of. a leather shoe sole, and means for rotating said flexing roll.

ALBERT F. BANCROFT. 

